Guten Appetit!

Today is a busy day: went to school in the morning (after going to the doctor to get some medicine for the weekly illness) then went to buy things to make these cookies, then finished my x-mass cards, then made cookies, and now I'm on a break from packing my stuff (hate packing, somehow it doesn't get better every time). Tomorrow Rob's dad is picking us up from here to take us to their place for the holidays. Picking up did I say? He's driving all the way to here from their home (about 2.5-3 hours drive) and taking us there. Nice ha? He's already on vacation and wanted to do something. anyways. as you can see I made these cookies- the recipe I found in the book of x-mass cookies I got from Rob's mom for Nikolaus (on December 6th the kids get sweets and presents from Nikolaus, and so did I).
So, might write again before the holiday, if not- have a Frohe Weihnachten! or in English: Merry x-mass!!!

look!

It's gonna be my first real x-mas with a family, and I prepared it all!
look at the presents I got for Rob's family:
aren't they wrapped so nice???

I also made nice cards, all by myself, I might put some pics of them here later some time...

New friends

I have so much to tell that I don't even know where to start.
Last week started like all the other weeks... Nothing special... I had my Hebrew class on Sunday, and then on Tuesday we went to a Hanuka celebration only for Israelis and their partners. I met some ppl I already know, and also a nice Israeli guy, who lives here with his German girlfriend. It was nice to meet new ppl, and make friends. On Thursday he called and we met for a coffee, and it was so weird for me to talk in Hebrew in a public place! (first time for me here to do that). While we talked I got an SMS from my Tandem partner. I'm not sure I wrote about it here, but I was looking for a Tandem partner in the last few weeks, someone local I can practice my German with, someone that is interested in learning and practicing Hebrew. I was surprised to even get an e-mail back from this girl (girl? she's not a girl anymore... how would you call a young woman of 30? woman sounds so old to me...). Anyway to get to the point: she SMSed me on Thursday, asking if I can meet her the same evening, I obviously said yes, what else do I have to do??? I met her in a really nice cafe and it was so great! She's a really interesting and nice person. She just finished her med studies and now she's specializing in psychiatry. She spent 2 years of her life volunteering in Israel as a nurse, and learned Hebrew. We talked the whole time only in German, which was really really nice, and I was so proud of myself... The thing that was funny was that even though usually I speak better German when I'm drunk, this time this wasn't the case... As I drank more I made more mistakes... And that helped me feel more relaxed about talking with mistakes. It was the first time I realized, or better say: felt, that I can make mistakes in German and the world will not fall apart. It was not just an exercise for my language skills, but also a lesson in perfectionism, or rather- against it.
So that was Thursday, and then came Friday, as usual I went to school and at night we went to a party at the dorms. Was a boring party, and in the end we found ourselves in the dorms' club, which as usual was way too loud and way too smelly from cigarettes... After an hour or two I was dying to go home and breath some normal air...
On Saturday we went to Königstein which is a castle not far from here, in Sächsische Schweiz (swiss Saxony in German). There's a mid-evil x-mas market on top of the hill in the castle, and it was a nice experience, even though we already attended the mid-evil x-mas market here in Dresden. Of course we mostly ate there all kinds of "mid-evil" food, and drank some nice Glühwein (hot wine with fruit and spices). In the evening we went to the mall, not to shop but to watch the Hanuka candle lightning of the Jewish community, met some more ppl, and went with A the Israeli, his German girlfriend J and a couple of new guys (E the Israeli and M the Italian) to a cool Italian chain restaurant. The concept of this restaurant is that you get a plastic card, on which you charge everything you order, you serve yourself, and in the end you pay at the cashier at the exit. The food there is really good, especially the Pizzas, only the drinks are a bit too expensive...
That's it for now, I really need to study, but have no Lust (passion in German, they use to say that they feel or don't feel like doing something, I have Lust for... or I have no Lust for...). I ate 3 Sufganiyot (the Jewish donuts for Hanuka) already, I never eat more than one a year, and 3- that's really too much! oh well, it's not like I eat these things on a regular basis.
Still don't know what to buy for Rob's brothers and dad for x-mas (I have to think about something for him too...) it's so hard to buy for men!!! Any ideas will be welcomed...
Suppose to get my first paycheck from the Hebrew lessons kinda soon, it's not much money- but it's something and it's nice :-)
Hope to have another nice week now, wish you all a good one too...

Happy Hanuka

What's more appropriate for Hanuka than a light show???

My window view

Remember this picture? from just a few weeks ago?

This is how it looks now:




I think we can start calling it winter.

A post from bed

First I want to start and say thank you to all the readers and friends that commented and e-mailed me on my last post... You guys don't know how much it helped when I read all these nice things!
I got sick on Friday, right after school (didn't feel great there already) I came home and all I wanted to do is go lay in bed. I didn't even have the wish to sleep- I just wanted to lie down... I had a fever and in general was sure that I was gonna die (a drama queen stays a drama queen even when she's sick, and especially when she's sick). Rob was, as usual, my personal nurse, called his mom for Homeopathic help, brought me loads of tea, made me drink it when I was too lazy, gave me medicine and kept me company. On Saturday morning I already felt much much better, and even tough I wasn't at my best yet we went to my class's evening out (felt bad missing it). It was nice, we stayed too long, and when I got home I crashed into bed- coz the next day in the morning I had my Hebrew class. The lessons went good, they're really happy with me there, and that's nice.
Note to self: Stop being a perfectionist - stop working on every lesson for 3 hours. I'm not getting payed so much for the preparation.
On Monday was still not feeling great, but had school and didn't wanna miss it, also I needed to bring some documents to the secretary there. In the end - stupid me I forgot a page - and had to take it back home and bring it again... This morning I really didn't feel great again, so decided that I'm staying home. Called the secretary and asked if I can bring the things tomorrow- she said yes and that's it- I'm missing a day of school! I can't remember a time when I felt so bad about not going to school. I used to skip school all the time. I was an expert in doing everything else but going to school. What happened to that? I don't wanna miss classes all of a sudden, being afraid I wont be able to catch up. It's totally dumb I know that, but can't stop feeling this way...

***

We have a really nice board game from the home of the National Geographic. In the game you're a photographer and you need to bring photos from around the world. You get an assignment list of things you're suppose to take their picture, and you have to guess where the photos on the cards were taken, if you guess right you get this card. There's a lot of photo cards there, all National Geographic photos- meaning beautiful pictures from around the globe, and it's fun playing. You can also answer a question about the continent your picture was from and win tokens. This game was brand new when we opened it- but it was bought years ago- rather in 1990, and it's amazing to see how much the world has changed since then- on the board there's still the Soviet Union, all the Balkan countries are not divided to independent ones (for example there's still Czechoslovakia) there is Western Germany and Eastern Germany, and also- Yemen is still divided to 2 countries! I started thinking about it- and in that year, 1990 I was already starting my teenage years, and since then not that much time has past- but the world has changed so much! The lives of billions of ppl has changed to the better and to the worse, wars started and ended, ppl moved from one country to another- escaping bad consequences of the changes around them. It's been only 17 years since then- but so much has happened.
I was thinking lately how our lives are relatively temporary compared with the age of this world. Nations rose and fell, cultures were successful and colorful and rich in mind and material, and they all disappeared. Nowadays, us here in the western world, see ourselves as the powerful group of ppl, the lucky ones, the ones with the options. Who knows if that is the way it's gonna be like in 20, 30, 40, 50 years from now? Things have changed before that in much less time. It's scary because I find it hard to imagine a better era for the 'western' world.

***

Will try to stop make you guys all depressed, and wish you a good day,
I hope I'll get to update more often,
Tschüss!

High maintenance

Thanks to Facebook, I got to be in touch again with ppl I haven't talked to in ages. Ages can be more than 10 years sometimes... In the last few weeks I've been telling at least 20 ppl from my past what's up with me nowadays. Some got the short version and some the longer one. Some asked more questions than others and some told me what they think about my life. They think that it's so exciting. It sounds so amazing and interesting and different. Even though there's so many Israelis that go abroad and live and learn and experience. On days like today I wonder if they're even close to the truth. I wonder how important these experiences are. I know it builds my personality, and learning languages and getting to know new cultures is something that I will thank in years from now. But on days like this one- I wonder what's the point in all that. Why today of all days? Well it's just another day I feel lost in the language. I feel that German is way too complicated to comprehend as an outsider. I feel there's no point sitting in class and learning the million grammar rules- if I don't feel that I can actually speak.
Having this kind of 'exciting' life needs very high maintenance: it starts with days you just wish you were in your homeland- coz of the weather, or the food, or the ppl, or the language, or how easy it is to do things - coz you really understand how to. It also brings you to a very lonely place sometimes, no matter how many ppl are around you, and even when the person that you love so much is just next to you. You are reminded on a daily basis that you are different. You are shown that if you just lay back, relax and basically do nothing- your feeling about the place will stay stuck where it is- coz you wont make any progress with the language, will not meet any new ppl to hang out with, and in the end- what's the point of being "somewhere else" if you don't get to taste everything that it brings with it? Changing your life and the place you live in so often, being a foreigner everywhere you go, speaking a language you don't really connect to, learning it without knowing exactly why, all these things really take a lot of my energy. I feel like I put myself on a very low flame, and there's hardly any energy coming through. The weather of course doesn't help. I don't hate it yet- it's cold but not too bad, but when you feel like there's no purpose to what you're doing, a sunny day can make you feel all better as if you were on Prozac...
German has such specific words. They have a different word for "rose by" and "rose to", they have a different word for "melts in your mouth" and just "melts". It feels so impossible to speak correctly- coz you know that you're probably using the wrong word. If there's too many options- you must choose the wrong one, no?
It feels that the ppl here are really like that sometimes. Everything is so precise- you have no gray zones to go to. No flexibility. none. The stereotypes are generally true. We call it being Jeke (pronounced: Yeke). Liking everything exact. Precise. Correct. Familiar. Not different. Just let me have my cup of coffee with exactly 138 grains of sugar in it, 2.67 ml of milk, and let it be a kind that I already know and like. It should be served to me at exactly 16:04. God forbid it's anything different. I will just die.
Of course I'm overreacting, but writing and overreacting goes together. I can't really explain to you these kind of things without exaggerating.
Going to make lunch. Hopefully will feel like writing more later. It helps. Me.

The meaning of: "The world is MY oyster"

I've noticed that a lot of ppl are looking for the meaning of this idiom and ending up here, so here it is:

Link 1. "If the world is your oyster, you have the ability and the freedom to do anything or go anywhere. You're young and healthy and you've got no commitments, so the world is your oyster."

Link 2. The world is one's oyster, Everything is going well, as in I was younger then, and the world was my oyster. In this term the oyster is something from which to extract great profit (a pearl). It was probably invented by Shakespeare in The Merry Wives of Windsor (2:2): "Why then, the world's mine oyster, which I with sword will open."

If you're asking yourself why have I posted this only now, after more than a year of writing this blog- it's coz I wanted to clear the sidebar from this info...

Trüber November

It means- gloomy November. It is gloomy. And dark. Sometimes, for a second, you get to see the little pieces of sky that are left up there... Most of the time you see white sky. Yes! it's white! not even gray- just one big foggy cloud. It rains most of the time, but we also had snow already on Saturday night. It melted after 2 hours, but since then precipitation was mainly rain mixed with hail mixed with snow that melted on the way down from the huge big cloud that we call "The sky".
That's it for the weather.
Now to more interesting things:
Yesterday I had my second Hebrew lesson- went really good. My boss (if I can call her that) said that I'm a real "Mashki'anit" which basically means in Hebrew- that I put a lot of effort into things. Well I just don't like to do half of a job. Or even 90% of a job. Especially when I'm the one standing in the spot light in the end- teaching the lesson- coz if I don't really invest in it before- I'm the one who's gonna be standing there and not knowing what to do.
While I was teaching the last group of the three, I noticed police cars outside, and noise. My boss opened the door and we saw a group of about 30 ppl, gathering in front of the place. Apparently
it was a group of German ppl who are Israel supporters and were there to mention the Kristallnacht. They played some Klezmer music, and had a small ceremony. They moved from one Jewish institute to another, the whole Sunday morning, even though it was close to freezing degrees outside and raining. They had speakers- and everyone around could hear them. It made me feel so good here. It was heart warming to see ppl in Dresden, the capital of Saxony, where the NPD (National Democratic Party in Germany, AKA the new Nazis) has most of their votes from, doing something like that.

And to a different subject: my mom and my sister booked a flight to come here!!! It's in ages from now (3 months) but I'm so excited!!! Yey!!! They're gonna be here for a whole week!

Other then that - my new class in German school is much better, my teachers are genuine and nice, and simply good teachers. Even though I must admit that there are times when I still feel like breaking something / someone just because I really have a hard time learning German... Especially when I have to write an essay. We're suppose to practice writing a short essay of about 120 words. Every teacher gives us a new topic every week- which means that we have to write 2 of them per week. Well... don't have to write- it's an option- but if we want to pass the final German exams- the ones that will determine if we get into uni in Germany- we should. Anyway, you're probably asking yourselves: what the hell is her problem? she's been writing and yapping here on this blog for so long now! what's her problem to write 120 words as an essay??? What's the problem you ask? The problem is that for a person like me, who most of the time has lots to say about just about almost anything, it's really hard to write when I don't have the vocabulary, or worse- the grammar to write in a foreign language. It feels like I have so much going on in my brain, and I always have so much to say about the topics they give us- but all these thoughts and ideas go through a very dense small holed net- and all my thoughts are being screened away. My head usually threatens to explode and at some point I bang on the desk, breathing in and out slowly to make the anger go away. I've been driving Rob crazy with questions like: "How do I say this?" or "What's better to say- this or that?" he can't do anything while I write my essays coz I totally suck him into my nutty little frustrated world.
*Sigh*
Hope it'll get better... At least I'm kinda enjoying my classes :-)

That's it for now, if I'll have anything to say- don't worry, you know me- I will!

Good (?) to be busy

Tired.
I am so tired.
So tired.
so.
Tired.
.
.
.

What an exhausting week and weekend.
Last week on Thursday I decided that that is that! not staying in that boring slow class anymore. Talked to the secretaries, and they told me that I can go try a different class the next day (Friday) and on Monday (2 different teachers in these 2 days so I better try them both). Went to the new class on Friday, and was SO pleased to see that they have an excellent teacher. The only thing is that they learn from a different book- so they learned so many things that I haven't and in such a faster pace than my old class... Was happy and frustrated at the same time. On Thursday I got a phone call from the Rabbi's wife, who interviewed me in August for a job and disappeared since then. She said she wants to start working and asked if I can meet her the same evening. So I went and met her, and she said that we're starting to work on Sunday (less than 3 days after!!!) and asked if I can arrange a Hebrew lesson for the 3 groups of kids. Of course I said yes, and so I found myself on Friday after that tiering day at school and even an hour at the gym, sitting next to my computer for about 3-4 hours, building a lesson for 3 different age groups- of kids I don't even know, and don't know what level of Hebrew they even have. In the end of course I made it, thank God that I use to build lessons in the Army and in 4 years worth of jobs. Saturday came, and I didn't get to study much, still had some stuff to do for the next day's lessons, and get some materials for it. I also still suffered from the same lack of motivation I'm experiencing lately. Can't find my wind and will to learn German lately. On Saturday night Rob and I wanted to go out a bit, clear our heads, so we "just" went to grab a few beers and a really nice Cafe. We left home a bit late, and in the Cafe a few German guys from the next table started talking to us- asking questions, hearing us speak English. They were nice so we found ourselves talking to them for almost an hour, and in the end got home really late. I didn't have much time to sleep - and on Sunday had to get up rather early to go to my first Hebrew lessons. Got there, it went great (what else? I worked hard on it!) after the Sunday school, there was a Brit (circumcision) for the baby of an Israeli woman and a German man. Must admit that I don't know why this couple decided to do that- but whatever. I live and let live. So I stayed for the event, met a few Israelis, in general it was nice, there was a big lunch for all, and got to talk with really nice ppl, just I was so tired after about 2 hours, I almost fell asleep on the table. Left there, and got home at 5ish, then took a really short nap, and Rob and I headed to some Israeli friends' house- whom I only met in the event that afternoon (but was in touch with before). We had a really nice time with them, was refreshing. Then go home, go to sleep, get up early and go to school... This morning it was so hard for me to wake up, not knowing even how's my teacher- and how the day will be, and mainly- I just wanted to sleep for another eternity. The teacher is nice, I'm pleased with the teachers I have now, just that again- in class coz I don't really understand everything they're doing- I sometimes feel lost, which doesn't help my general feeling about it. Still I think it was a good decision to change classes.

So as you can see, I obviously had no time to write here, and I'm so tired now- you can't even imagine how many times I type each word and erase - I just make so many typing mistakes...

Promise to keep writing,
haven't decided yet if being so busy is good for me -coz to tell the truth? I don't function very well with too much stress. I don't get motivation by knowing there's and exam waiting for me at the end of the road, and I just don't work well when I don't get enough sleep.

Americans are NOT stupid

I wonder how a questioner like this would look like in other countries... I guess that just as bad!

Pictures

Here is a link to a slideshow of pictures I took today and two weeks ago in Dresden.

Enjoy!

What a loaded week!

Wow this week was busy. On Monday I had the exam that determines my level in German - or at least that's what the school said it does. It was not just a hard exam but also had totally different topics and totally different layout than what I was told it'll have in summer. I got home so upset and unmotivated to continue with my German studies that all I could do is cry. The day after I went back there to see in what group they put me in- thinking that the groups were ranked according to the grade we got in the exam. I was placed in group "B" out of three groups, and still wasn't sure what that means. The teacher came to pick us up and take us to class- and he is the weirdest man in the world. He doesn't know how to teach, he has zero charisma, and he's plain annoying. I hated him from first sight. He told us all kind of things that later in the week we found to be wrong (administration things) and in general I thought that day that I can't go on and study with him in the next 6 months... The only bright side about it is that he only teaches us on Mondays and Tuesdays, and in the rest of the week we have a different teacher. Well! the other teacher is a really old woman, well not really old but it looks to me as if she should have taken her pension already, that on the first day bored me to death. She is a good teacher, and she's very nice and cute, but she speaks so slow! it takes her ages to finish a sentence! and if you ask her a question be prepared to get a 10 minutes answer- even if you only asked what something means. The first hour and a half of every day we had with her until now were dedicated to checking the homework- which is totally dumb because why do we get work to do at home if we check it so precisely every morning???
So that's school- which I'm so disappointed with... I told myself I'll give the man teacher one more try, and the woman I'll learn to cope with, I guess... The thing is that I had such a great teacher in summer in the other school that it hurts me inside to think about that when I'm in class... My former teacher was a young charismatic woman, with loads of teaching skills, and lots of real genuine nice personality. It's really hard to top!

***

Other than all this emotional see-saw I had with my German classes, I had a really busy week on the partying side!
On Tuesday we went out to the Erasmus* night in a students club, met a friend of Rob's from a few years ago, whom he hasn't met since then. He is so nice, so nice! We spent the whole evening with him, and it made the evening really worth it.
On Wednesday I went with Ceci my Mexican friend from my summer course for a girls night out- we went to a really stupid American movie called: " Because I said so", in the original version of course (meaning it's in the original language and not dubbed to German) and we enjoyed it in the sense of total escapism... When the movie ended I realized I'm back in Dresden, and with everything that happened this week- it fell on me like a stone... It was really nice to forget where I was!
On Thursday we went to another international night but this time not Erasmus and it was the Chilean night. We met Rob's friend from the other night again, and a lot more new ppl: we met some ppl from Mexico that study with him in some classes, and we met someone from Togo (which was so cool to talk to, he naturally speaks French, and his German is really good, English too and probably his mother tongue from home, which I don't know which one of the many there are). We got phone numbers of several interesting ppl, and already got invited to 2 more parties, one today- which we're gonna say no to- we're too tired, and one next week. I spoke so much German last night, coz there were a few ppl that didn't know much English, and it was so great. Rob was so proud of me! Apparently I got drunk last night, and when I'm drunk I speak really good German... LOL... This morning with perfect harmony to last night, my alarm clock didn't go off- so I was late to class, and joined them only after the first break, guess what??? I didn't miss anything coz they only checked the homework! that helped me not feel bad about it....

I started knitting again and realized that it's just like riding a bike- you don't really forget it, which is really nice...

That's all for this week, tomorrow we might go to another party (just heard about it now)- at least things balance themselves: I don't like my German classes so much, but I meet nice and interesting ppl from all over the world and go out a lot...

Have a nice weekend!


*Erasmus is a student exchange program for students all over Europe.

P.S I added something to my last post about teaching and learning a new language- you're welcomed to check it out.

My island of Sanity

People ask me why do we (Rob and I) not speak more German at home. I tell them that we try sometimes (which isn't a lie) but that mainly I am the kind of person that needs time to absorb the language slowly slowly. The main reason I don't really feel like speaking German at home is because home is my sanctuary. My island of sanity. The place where I can express myself in all kinds of ways, whether it's in English, or some words in Hebrew that Rob knows, or even a few words of Chinese, some inside jokes, and some mimics we use with each other. When we speak German I feel as if I'm in a classroom, not in my own comfortable home. I feel like a student, not like a girlfriend or just me. I feel like I'm being tested. Yes, I do learn a bit in those moments we actually try to speak German, but only as long as it's a few minutes that we both had decided to practice the language in. If suddenly I'll be surprised in my own home with this language- the only thing I'll wanna do is throw the person that did it out the window with his German words...
Outside I'm forced to use the language. I do rely on Rob a lot when it comes to doing all the talking everywhere, but slowly I do know what to say when someone asks me: "what would you like to drink?" and when Rob isn't around- I get along fine. I know myself better than all these "smart" ppl that wish to preach me on the right ways to learn a language. Thanks for your interest ppl, but I've been though a thing or two in my short life, and the last thing I need right now is another person to tell me how to do things. I know it comes from a good place, these ppl just want to help, and they think that sharing these so called 'unknown' pieces of information helps me so much. Well ppl, it doesn't.

The Do's and Don'ts for a friend of a person learning a new language:
(written in male- but obviously refers to women too)

1. First and foremost ask your friend if he's even interested in your help.
2. Then you can ask in what way you can help. For example: you can speak the language to him more often, or just check his homework, you can help him write a diary in the new language, you can translate to him things ppl say around him- so he still hears the language but also is involved in the conversation.
3. After your friend told you the ways he would like you to help him, try to keep to these things, don't take more initiative- remember- each person has his own pace.
4. Be extremely patient! The last thing someone like your friend needs is someone sitting on his tail to make him learn faster or better.
5. Listen to him. Sense when he's getting lost in the language, and pay attention when he had enough and all he wants to do is express himself in his own language or just English.
6. Try to understand: for some ppl languages are hard to learn and for some it comes easily, but even those ppl are still human beings, and that means that in some level- they do not like feeling stupid. Interpret that anyway you like- just keep it in mind.
7. Let your friend know that he's more than welcomed to make mistakes. One thing I learned from teaching English as a second language was that it gives ppl a great sense of accomplishment if they can have a whole conversation in the language they're learning. Don't correct their mistakes while they speak!!! Try to remember what they said wrong and let then know about it later. To any mistake they make- let them know what was wrong- and what is right.
8. One of the things you can do is learn the grammar rules of your own language. At least enough to know how to answer your friends questions.
9. You are not a teacher- these tips are only for a friend - close friend who wants to help. Remember that yourself- you are not a teacher (But if you are a teacher - remember that this isn't a student of yours- it's a friend- big difference).
10. Appreciate the fact that this person in front of you is trying to learn your own language. I can speak only for myself- but I always feel honored when ppl want to learn Hebrew- my mother tongue, even though I didn't invent it or have no ownership on it- it makes me appreciate ppl who want to learn it - and that changes the way I feel about them.

* One more thing that I thought about tonight (just came home from a nice night out): most ppl learn best from just being exposed to the language - as long as you speak correctly next to them - they will learn a lot - even if you don't intend on "teaching" at the moment. And something about slang: it's always nice to know what words mean in slang- especially these words that mean something totally different in the "normal" language- so - don't be afraid to use slang and contemporary language.

** Adding this after a night out of speaking a lot of German:
A nice method to teach the right way of speaking in a certain language is to reflect what the other person said but without the mistakes. Meaning- don't stop the person in the middle of the sentence to correct his mistake, and you even don't have to tell him he made one- just say what he said, but this time correctly.
For example:
Learner: "I spoked to her last night......"
Teacher: "Yeah I know, and when I spoke to her she said....."

Alice in wonderland

There is no doubt that "Alice in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll is my all time favorite book. I've read it in a few versions, obviously in the original as well, and read some research about it, and lots of theories.
Here is another theory about it that I found today: "The Neurology of Alice" in English and Hebrew.


And here are links to Lewis Carroll's 2 most famous books: ( I love finding whole books online!)
1. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
2. Through the Looking Glass and what Alice found there


Enjoy!

Around the world

So there's this website, where among other things you can make this kinda map, so I tried to find out in how much of the world I've been to. And I got so disappointed... I mean... 9%??? how little is that???
I wanna go to so many places still that if I start writing their names down it'll never end...
I can't even choose one place I really wanna go to first. I mean - if i have to choose one- should I be practical and choose a country that's close to where I am now? or somewhere far far away? somewhere cheap coz I have no money now, or somewhere that will be affordable only when if I'm rich? you see, there's almost no place on this planet I don't want to visit and check out. When will I ever do that??? with what money??? It's the chronicles of a known failure. Hopefully I'm wrong.

Autumn and some arts and crafts

Autumn. My first real one as an adult (since we lived in the states). I have to admit that I like the word "Fall" much better. It describes it so well. It's cold in this country. It's still not too cold for me- but when I look outside, or when I am outside- I realize that this is only the preview for winter. It's gonna get much colder. On the bright side- we already turned on the heating a bit at home. I like living in a house with good heating. It's such a relief. So here are pictures of what I see from our bedroom window nowadays:

Look at all these nice colors.
It's a shame they predict
a very long and deadly sleep.

In a few months all these trees will be naked,
and the scenery will look like
a black and white picture
(if we're lucky enough to have snow).

***

I got an old desk from Rob's parents- to use it for studying. It was painted green and it looked hmmm lets say- not so much to my taste... Rob and I scratched it till our hands almost fell off, and then I painted it with 3 layers of bright paint. You can still see the bits of green that we couldn't take off- but only if you really look closely. Here's a picture of the finished product:

I used Mosaic squares for the decoration.

So as you can see now I have my own corner to work on and sit next to. And study.... I have to study. German is not just hard. It's complicated and stupid. I must say that until now it's my least favorite language from the 5 I ever learned... Too many rules. Tomorrow I have a private lesson with my x-German teacher, she's so nice- I asked her if she is interested in giving me some grammar lessons before I start the next course.

***

It's Rob's birthday tomorrow. I'm going to bake him a cake in the oven his mom got him for his bday. Happy birthday sweety!

In Germany. Again.

2 days ago I took a flight back to Germany. It was at 16:20 from Israel to Istanbul (Turkish Airlines) and my connecting flight to Berlin was only the day after at 08:40am. I was already planning my 13 hours at the airport waiting for my flight. My dad advised me to ask the at the transfer desk if it's possible to stay in one of the airport's lounges until then. So I went there and asked. The guy there told me that it's better if I take a hotel. He said that Turkish Airlines will provide me with transportation to and from a hotel, and a night there- on their own expense! I was so surprised and pleased! So I went through passport control in Istanbul (how lovely it is that the British need a visa to Turkey but us Israelis don't???) then they took me to a really ok hotel in town, and in the early morning they took me back to the airport... It was great having my own room and my own shower and a bed for the night...
Got to Berlin and Rob picked me up from the airport - we met Aaron his friend for lunch, and then drove to his parents' to be here for a few days - coz they're not around and they wanted us to be with his little bro a bit.
Today we didn't do much, Rob was kind enough to give me a drivers lesson here (I feel that I need the reinforcement to know the local weird rules and all) and met his former piano teacher (when we picked up his bro from a lesson). She's one of the coolest ppl I ever met- a 60++ year old that looks much younger, dances around and jumps and moves like a little girl. She's an x-Russian (Jewish too) who lives here for years and years, and I understood almost everything she said in German so it was nice- I wasn't left out of the conversation at all... She suddenly opened her kitchen door and on the table she had food and cakes- coz it's her Birthday today. Did I say she's really cool???
The weather here is really shit. Cold (about 13°c) and gray and rainy- but it's still gonna take a few days until I'm sick of it so... I'm not complaining yet!
Liya from China just moved to Germany after a year in China, came here after a boyfriend too- and I'm so happy she's closer now!!! Liya!!! when are we gonna meet??? miss ya!
That's all for now, gotta do my nails... (I'm such a girl sometimes... lol)

Happy birthday Blog!!!

I'm such a bad blogger, I didn't even realize that on September 2nd was the anniversary of my blog. It's been a year that I've been writing it. Sometimes I feel inspired and I write things that later I like reading again. Sometimes I feel like I'm writing just to write. Sometimes I write just to update you guys on my life, which sometimes comes out nice and sometimes I feel like words are better left unsaid. Anyway just wanted to mention this day (even though I'm late by almost a month). I wish for my blog to be more interesting, and exciting, more deep and insightful, funnier and more sensitive. May I always have the muse to write in you - my blog.

Pictures

Here are some pictures from our month in Israel. A little bit of everything:

Caesarea - the city of Herod



This used to be a private pool
of a rich Roman...

The Negev desert, on the way to Eilat


Sunrise from our window, Sinai

A stray camel coming for a visit



A colorful store in Tarabin, Sinai



A hazy morning next to the Kineret




The El Aktza mosque in Jerusalem

My new computer

This is my first post from this computer! Mine was very sick as you already know from all my stories about it from China, and now I have a new laptop- and I'm getting used to it. I like it that's for sure.
Since we came back from Sinai, we went traveling in the north part of Israel, slept on the beach of the Kineret lake for two nights, and traveled especially in the Galilee. It was very nice, and again I promise to put pictures soon. After that we went to Jerusalem, to spend Yom Kippur there- that's the day the Jewish ppl fast for 24 hours to ask for forgiveness for their sins. We spent it with my friend Yifat, who just moved to Jerusalem to do her 5th and 6th year of med school there. This day almost nobody drives in Israel, and the streets are filled with ppl and kids riding bicycles and other wheeled things. The most religious ppl don't do that of course. Jerusalem as usual is amazing, the feeling you get when you're there is so special, it's really hard to explain. Rob & I fell in love with it again. On Sunday, right after the holiday, we went to a museum- that shows all of the city's history- it's called Migdal David (the tower of David) and it's very recommended.
Adi, my best friend from school gave birth to a pre-mature baby, on the 6th month of her pregnancy - now the baby is gonna stay in the hospital until it's strong enough to leave... I cross my fingers the baby will be strong and healthy!
Rob left to Germany 2 days ago, and I'm going back there in less than a week- it feels weird to leave again for so long... My mom is going today for a week which means I won't see her again b4 I leave... It's a very weird feeling.
I've been trying to learn German alone here, yesterday I was good- sat for more than 3 hours. Today I'll do it after mom leaves, until the evening- it's another holiday today- and I'm going to my aunts place for dinner.
I really need to start doing sports again, especially Yoga. I feel so bad about not doing anything, a real icky feeling. I hope I'll find a good Yoga teacher in Germany, coz even though I have a really good Yoga book - I have no self discipline and I need a class to actually go to. I fear the fact that I'm not going to understand the teachers again- which really makes all the difference for me. I'll try to find out where there's a teacher that teaches in the method I like, and I'll see how much it costs. But even if it's gonna be paying money that I don't have- I'm going back to doing Yoga... Until I find a good Yoga teacher- I'll try to go to the gym at least...
I'm stressed about not having a job in Germany yet, I keep using the money I don't have (my savings...) and I really don't like this feeling. I haven't worked in a year, and it feels so useless... I really need to know that I'm making money, and not just spending it.
I'll write more in the next few days, I'm going to have lunch with my mom now (who bought so much food for me for the time she's gone- it's amazing).

Quiet comes from inside

Thursday morning, we're all set and ready to leave to Sinai with the car. My mom is just getting the last things from home, and Rob and I are already downstairs waiting. I put my sun glasses on my head- to be able to see in the hallway- and they break. hmmm... can't drive without sun glasses all the way to Eilat! not in Israel! My mom says she'll drive to Tel-Aviv until we get to my sisters who's joining us 2 days later, but forgot her passport at my moms place- so we had to go through TLV. I find a good sun glasses store where my sister lives, a chain store in Israel, they have sales for the end of the summer, I find there a nice pair of glasses for only 104 NIS, I'm happy, we go on our way to Eilat. We get to the border with Sinai at about 17:00, cross it, someone we know is waiting for us to pick us up to our usual beach (where we know the owners and we always go to). The place is beautiful and charming as usual. The days go by, The heat isn't so terrible, there are just some really strong and hot winds at night, but we go through it. There's no electricity, so we live according to nature, wake up with the sun (and the flies all over us buzzing and driving us crazy) and go to sleep early, after watching the billion starts and the milky way in the sky. I saw so many shooting starts (always wished for the same thing- not gonna tell you - so it comes true), and was almost relaxed- couldn't stop thinking about my little and annoying country that decided it wants to bomb something in Syria (stupid stupid stupid). A vacation with your mother could sometimes be too much, and I must say that I wouldn't have minded if we went there for a little bit less time. 5 days were a bit too much. We did go see a Bedouin village, and then walked around those amazing red mountains a bit, and one day the sheikh of the tribe there took us with his jeep to the mountains to see some nice colored sand (red, yellow, white, purple, orange...). There was one dog fight at the beach we were staying in, and while I was deciding that I shouldn't be next to it, the dogs pushed me (while fighting each other) I ran and tripped, and got lots of bruises all over. At the same time my glasses, who were laying on the floor (coz the beads jewellery lady was there showing us her stuff on the floor) got stepped on by someone (could be anyone there- there was a big mess) and there went a new pair of glasses to the garbage... I was very annoyed... The rest of the time we just tried to pass the time in the shade, swim in the sea (Rob went snorkeling a lot- I tried once and was too much of a chicken- afraid of all those fish!) caught a tan, ate good food and read a lot.
There's one main thing I got to realize there, even thought it's such a cliche: Being relaxed and quiet comes from inside of you. No nice beaches, no good food, no silence outside will make you happy and peaceful. It must come from you. It can help bring it out, but it'll never happen if you're not really interested in it. And one more thing: Those beaches there can be very deceiving: it's all so beautiful, and almost virgin, and so mesmerizing, but the Bedouin culture, once you're not just a tourist there, and you are exposed to all they're ways, is very complicated and very very chauvinistic. I think I couldn't live in such a culture, coming from where I do.
Tuesday morning we drove back to Israel, I bought the same glasses (but different color) in Eilat (might wanna go change the color here, if they'll have it), and we drove to TLV to drop my sister off. Got home really tired, but still went to meet Yifat who came to Haifa today (needed to have a nice night out in civilization!).
Tonight is the Jewish new years eve- that we celebrate having a big dinner with our family (how can we celebrate something without food??? we're Jewish), and we're spending it at my aunts house.
Everybody: have a SHANA TOVA! (which means- a good year in Hebrew)

Vacation?

I've been asked if it's the heat that stopped me from writing here lately (thanks M :-)), so I decided to write one just before we're going to Sinai on Thursday. Rob's here and I guess that's the main reason for me not writing here, and even though we haven't been doing much- we still went to some nice places. One place that is definitely worth mentioning is Ein Hod- an artists village a bit southern than Haifa. We just went there to see the nice galleries (and we did) but we found something much nicer: BEER!!! There's a small pub there - called Art Bar- where the owner makes his own beer - and it was the best beer that I ever tasted in Israel! He brews 7 different kinds of beer, and he gave us a few to taste. It was even quite cheap... We had a really nice afternoon there in his small yard, that had some chairs (you couldn't find the same chair twice) and some tables (not the same as well), some rugs, a fan, a big speaker for the music, a cat and a dog. I would like to go back there one more time before we go back to Germany.
Tomorrow we're going to Ceasaria (Keysaria in Hebrew) to look at the ruins of the Roman Empire, and on Thursday we're going to Sinai with my mom. Will put pictures when I'm back!

Back to the heat

GOD it's hot in here. And so humid... Back in Israel if you didn't really understand where is "in here". Got here 2 days ago, my sister picked me up from the airport after a really terrible flight. The one to Istanbul was almost ok but the one from there to Israel was a nightmare: screaming kids and babies, ppl who smoke in the gate (the gate to Israel is always a closed gate for security reasons- just imagine being in a glass room with ppl who smoke, usually it doesn't bother me but that was just rude), ppl touching you, pushing you, ppl who don't know how to form a line, ppl who sit in other ppl's seats on the airplane (yes, in my seat too), ppl who get up from their seat as soon as the seat belt sign is off- and walk around on the plane- bothering the poor stewards, yelling at the stewards and so on... It was the longest 1 hour and 45 minutes of my life (especially coz the flight took off later than scheduled - and we waited on the plane the whole half hour delay). Anyway, my sis picked me up, and we went to her new apartment in Tel-Aviv- very cute apartment! It was the first time after a long time that we slept in the same room, and the same bed, which ended up in us talking half of the night, laughing and telling stories. That was a lot of fun! The next morning my dad came to take us to breakfast, and then my sis and I went shopping for me (have a wedding in 2 weeks and no dress)- I found a dress (very special one), we changed my sisters bedroom a bit (needed some final touches and rearranging) and then we went to Haifa. Dad surprised me again with a rented car- so I can be independent here and go and do whatever I want, so I went to pick it up, and only then I went to my moms.
Luckily someone called me last night about a translation job (saw the adds I put at the uni 2 months ago) so I worked today to get some cash...
Other than that- it's really hot here (a heat wave started yesterday especially for me) and that's about it.

***

[5 days earlier]

On Saturday we went to Berlin. We got there in the afternoon and went to Rob's friend's place- as I said before I really like this guy- and it was a nice feeling to have somewhere nice to crash. We met Rob's cousin for drinks, and then for food, I managed to lose my cell phone (again) and find it (again), we went out to a Poker party (apparently it's big in Germany now- and apparently it's big in Tel-Aviv too), got back really late at night, slept till noon, went to the park, went out for food, and then went up to a really nice bar on top of a roof on the east side of Berlin- right next to Alexander Platz. The weekend was really really nice, and I can't wait to get to Berlin again.

Alex - as seen from the bar on the rooftop

Stadt Fest

Today we went to the Stadt Fest (=City Festival) in Dresden. Ten minutes walk from home and we were in the Theatre Platz- where it all started. It is a mid-evil festival, and that means that there are a lot of stands with nice things to buy, or just nice food to eat. I had a beer that's made with honey (honey-beer) and I loved it! It tastes a bit sweeter than normal beer, and it has a bit different texture (less sparkly). We also had some nice potatoes and some good mid-evil bread- a big chunk of heavy fresh bread with yogurt and herbs on it. For desert I had a waffle with cherries. Yum!!! There were ppl dressed in mid-evil clothes, and some stages all around with live shows and music. It was great!!! Seeing the old town filled with ppl like that - it made the whole place look as if it's again the center of town, and not just a touristic place that reminds us there were once kings and lords who lived there. We got there at around 18:00 and left at 23:00, and I enjoid every moment. One of my German class mates, from Norway, joined us too- was fun seeing her before I leave (not sure if she's gonna be here when I'm back).
Here are some pictures:

The Elbe- Stands of food everywhere

A typical beer stand

I just love hot air balloons!
When the weather is nice
you can see so many of them in the sky

The ferris wheel isn't always there


Look how many ppl!!!


Anywhere in Dresden where there are tourists
you can see these little cute things:
It's a little tourist cab,
That is driven usually by young ppl-
and it's a tricycle-
so it's good for the environment too!


Anybody cares for some potatoes with yogurt and garlic?

Some fun for the kids:
this man is walking in the wheel
to make the "Marry go round" turn

***

Tomorrow we're going to Berlin, and on Monday I have my flight to Israel.
Have a good weekend!!!

Last day of German course

Today was my last day of my German course. I'm sad it's over- especially coz I had a great teacher, who was not just a good teacher, but also a really nice and fun person. We went all out this week together, all of the class mates and boy and girlfriends, and the teacher (and her boyfriend) to a beer garden, and it was a really nice evening. I hope to stay in touch with her.
This weekend there's gonna be a Stadt Fest here - that's a city festival, and it's suppose to be all about the middle ages. We're gonna go tomorrow, and on Saturday we're goin to Berlin to spend the weekend there with one of Rob's best friends. I really like him (met him once 2 years ago) and I guess it's gonna be a really nice weekend... On Monday I have my flight back to Israel in the afternoon, Rob's leaving Berlin in the morning (the only good ride he could find) so I'll have a few hours to decide what to do (still haven't decided if it's gonna be worth it to wonder around when I should be at the airport at about 14:00).
I bought myself another book to learn German from, coz I'm planning on taking the A2 level when I'm back here, and what I did now was only half of the A1 level (coz that's what they offer as summer courses). I'll have to do the other half alone and I hope it works out fine. Rob got me a German grammar book- in English- and it's a nice coherent book- so I hope that will come in handy.
Still didn't find a job here, had an interview- but even though the woman was very excited by my CV she never called back, and I sure hope I'll have somehow to make money when I come back here.
Still don't have a flight ticket back to here. Will just have to take care of that in Israel.
Hope I get to write again before I'm back in Israel, if not- expect a long one next time.

Crazy weather

It's hot. It's cold. It's sunny. It's rainy. It's sweaty. It's windy. It's nuts!
I have a theory: (it's not a new one- but I'm starting to think I was right all along)
Where the weather is stable - the ppl are crazy. Where the weather is crazy - the ppl are a bit less crazy (I don't know a place with non-crazy ppl- even a bit). You can see it in Israel- where you have exactly 4 seasons, or if you want - exactly 2 seasons and something in between them - there's the short and harmless winter, and then some spring- when the weather changes a lot- but the whole thing doesn't take longer than 2 months, then there's the long and excruciating summer, that starts nice and warm, time for the beach and some color on your skin, and ends with 100% humidity and jelly-fish in the sea, and 38°c that make you wish you were dead in the good case or frozen in the bad case. In both of the real 2 seasons Israel has- you don't really have to pay attention to the weather report (and maybe that's why it's not the most popular part of the news) coz you can totally guess how tomorrow's gonna be like at almost any day. Let's say for example that it's August 9th now, and you wanna plan something for next week, something outdoorsy, you can easily guess that in the north on the mountains it's gonna be warm but not too warm and not too humid in the evenings, and in the mornings you better take your sunglasses. In the Vally, and also in the south of Israel - you know it's gonna be 200% humidity (in the Vally) and 40°c easy, and in the desert in the south - it's gonna be about 45°c and much dryer- just that you feel as if someone is standing close to you with a huge fan and drying you dead. My point is (even though I totally drifted away) that in Israel in most cases you'll be able to guess what the weather is gonna be like in a week or a month or in half a year from now. That means the weather is kinda stable. But the ppl? ohhhh We are crazy!!! I say we coz obv I'm still an Israeli- and you can take the girl out of Israel but as much as I hate to admit it- you really can't take the Israel out of the girl.
Now take Germany for another example. You might be able to guess that in January it's gonna snow here and there, but not just that you can't be sure of that- that's about the only thing you've got. Take the last few weeks: it was so hot sometimes that I was complaining about not having AC's here- even though in Israel I hate those things for ruining the environment and freezing as if I was in the north poll. The next day- after having about 36°c - we again had rain and thunder storms, wind and coooold... My theory says that as long as the weather is crazy like that - the ppl create a mechanism that helps them stay less insane- and they become much more boring (of course not all ppl- just in general).
Now, my theory has lots of holes in it- I know- coz the German ppl I know - are far from boring. But on the other hand- they really don't look as crazy as the Israeli ppl look to me when I'm in Israel (and again- that includes me in a way). By crazy I obviously mean- a lot more spontaneous, a lot reckless, a lot more chance taking, and risk taking, and a lot more open and smiley, to anyone, even ppl they don't know, a lot more interfering- in the 'butting in' kinda way- telling you what they think even if you just met them 2 seconds ago and so on.
I know my thoughts here are very confused, I actually thought I wont be able to write a thing- I had this kinda block - I think I blame learning German for that- coz I really spend a lot of brain-band-width (it's a new term I just came up with) on studying- more than I ever did in my life (I really like these German lessons, it's fun).

***

Yesterday we went with a few classmates of mine and even my teacher and her boyfriend to a movie. It's kinda rare to see a movie here for me- coz they dub everything on TV and in cinema to German (how stupid is that???). So there's a few cinemas that show the movies in their original language- and we went to see Ocean's 13. I had a really good time! I liked the movie, I think it was better than Ocean's 12 and just as good as Ocean's 11, and I enjoyed the company so much too! After the movie we all went to have a beer- and it was great!
Tonight Rob's out with a friend, and it's the first time he goes out alone (without me) since I came here - and I think it's really good he did. People need some time alone, and time with their friends without a non-German-speaking girlfriend to tag along... :-)

***

Tomorrow Rob's parents are coming here for a day- on their way to an event in Berlin. They're gonna arrive when I'm still at school, and I'll meet them all right after. We're prob gonna be touring Dresden a bit, even though it's really not their first time here.

***

That's all for now kids!

In the middle

Today was the middle of my German course- and I wanna apologize for not writing since the first day there! I still have a lot of fun there, it reminded me again that I love studying and especially learning languages... I found myself doing the homework every day and telling my teacher it's not enough for me- since I don't have much to do in the afternoons (especially when Rob's studying for exams) and asking her for extra exercises... My teacher is SO nice, funny and cool, I found myself talking to her about just anything- on the way to and from school coz we take the same Tram. I also got really friendly with Ceci the Mexican girl, who I really like. We got 3 more ppl in the class, a Korean young woman, an Australian guy (who's here coz his girlfriend it from here) and a Romanian girl- who no one knows a lot about coz she hardly speaks anything else but Romanian- and she's not really catching up on the German like the rest of us.
I went to the bakery alone for the first time since I'm here- to buy me something for breakfast, and that's one result of me learning German... Here you can't go to the bakery if you don't know what to say- and since bread is one of the most important ingredients in the German diet- it's pretty important to be able to buy it! I always send Rob to buy bread- but maybe from now on I will feel ok to go there myself...
It feels really good having something to do in the mornings every day, not being bored for a second anymore, it gives such a sense of capability, of efficiency.
Today it was the middle of our 4 week course, and our teacher and the teacher of the other group took us to this really nice beer garden on the Elbe, next to the Blue Bridge (I'll look up it's story and let you guys know all about it) and it was really nice. The purpose was to celebrate being in the middle and also trying to order something on your own- in German... It was a really nice gesture of them.
Other than that not much is new- Rob still has one more exam to go- and in the next weekend his parents are coming for a visit- which is really nice coz I haven't seen them since I got here.
I'll finish up saying that I have a really good time here now, and that I hope that next year will look the same... I'm never sick of being a student...

Live Earth - A Beginner's Guide To Giving A Damn

First day of school and pics

Today was my first day in school!!! I started learning German- and I had a great day!!! We are 5 in the class (3 might still join us- but they didn't show up today) and the teacher is really nice and young. I already made friends with a Mexican girl, who's here with her husband who's doing a Phd here and their 2 year old daughter. It takes me about 45 min door to door in the morning, and i have to change from the bus to the tram once, but it's easy changes, and in general it's really nice- especially when the weather is so nice outside... I keep comparing it to Shanghai- where I had to get up at 06:30 to be at school at 08:00... Here I only leave the house at 08:10, and start at 09:00...

***

I promised pictures from last week, so I'll give it one more try:

Angles on the Brühlsche Terasse
that is on the Elbe river
in Dresden

View from the Brühlsche Terasse
to the Elbe, Dresden


Kunsthof Passage,
Neustadt, Dresden


on the Elbe in Kurort Rathen,
in Swiss Saxony
about half an hour train ride from Dresden


Middle aged bridge
on the Bastei


View from on top of the Bastei to the Elbe

***

That's it for now, I'll try to take more pictures of this beautiful city in these nice days...

Got it!

Yesterday I got my students visa!!! 2 stickers on 2 whole pages in my passport (great, now I need a new one...) I'm legal here!!! (not that I wasn't before but it's nice to say...).
I also got a SIM card, and now I have my own phone number... Nice to be normal.

***

On Wednesday Rob's sister came here for a visit with an American friend of hers. They're travelling around Germany together, both before going to uni. We travelled around Dresden with them the same afternoon they came (the weather was so nice) and the next day, Rob stayed home and studied while us three went to the Bastei- old ruins of a fort, from the middle ages, in Swiss Saxony- half an hour train ride from here. It was a beautiful day, and except for choosing the wrong shoes (why do I always do that???) and hurting my feet badly on the way down hill, it was really nice. The pictures wouldn't upload now for some reason- so I'll put them here some other time- promise...

***

I'm starting my German course on Monday- hope it'll be good... Hope I will be good...

***

Today was really warm, and now all of a sudden it started getting really windy, and rainy, and the worst thing is the thunders and lightnings... scary...

I'm in love.

It's 29 degrees outside!!!

Yep! you read it right! I'm in Germany, and it's 29°c outside!!! It got nice and warm yesterday already, and we went for a bike ride next to the Elbe. I wish I had taken my camera... I might do the same thing today or tomorrow- and this time I will... On the way, on the nice path next to the river, we found out that there's a place called "City Beach" which is a nice pub/cafe/volley ball area/chill out place. So we stopped for a beer before going back home. They actually have sand there, and nice beach furniture, and it's a pretty big place. Definitely a place to come back to. So today its 29°c and coz Rob has to study- I'm not sure when we'll have time to go out and enjoy it- I would go somewhere alone but I don't really feel like doing something like that alone, half of the fun is to share the good weather with someone you love.

***

In the last few days we had some trouble with the cellular company we ordered a SIM card for me. They sent it with DHL and the guy said that without a residence permit he can't give it to me. He said it's an o2's regulation (the cellular company). o2 on the other hand said that it's not true and that the guy should have given me the envelope. DHL said that the ppl in o2 know nothing and that it's not true. This way we were thrown back and forth between stupid companies, and in the end we got an e-mail replying ours, from o2, saying- that yes - I need a permit to sign their contract. Why didn't they say anything about it before in the 100 e-mails they sent me saying what i need to prepare? no one knows... In the end Rob ordered a SIM on his name, and annoyingly enough they wouldn't even let us give them my bank account info, and insisted on taking Rob's. So now I'll be paying him back every month for my phone calls- a situation I must say I don't like... The customer service here is just a joke really... If there's one good thing about Israel is customer service.

***

Just wanted to tell you guys- look on the side bar of my blog- there's a new poll there!

***

Hmmm... maybe I will go out alone and enjoy the good weather... we'll see...

Picture and concert

a long time ago I promised to put here some pictures of the pink wall- so here is a picture of our little "Chinese corner":

You can see here the 4 seasons pictures:

(from the right) Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter

and on the right wall- 2 "blessings" in Chinese.

***

Last night we went to the Arctic Monkeys concert. When we got to the place we thought that we're the oldest ppl there, but after a little while we realized that we're probably still in the young ppl's group... At first there was a warm up band called Coral, they're British too. In the beginning, I liked their music, though the sound wasn't the best, but after a few songs I decided that I find their music a bit un-original- it was a mixture of all kinds of music, a surprising mix- some country, some Pink Floyd, some Brit pop, some alternative rock. Maybe on CD they sound better. The Arctic Monkeys, on the other hand, gave a real good show. First of all (and for me it's very important) the sound was really good. The concert took place in an old factory house (at least that's how it looks like) made of brick walls, and a very high ceiling, which gave it a good sound. They sang most songs from their last Album "Your favorite worst nightmare" which was the title of the concert, and some from their first album too. They really know how to give a good show, yet I dare say- this show wasn't something exceptional, it was a standard great concert (if I can say something like that...).

At first we stood kinda in the middle of everything, until I got a bit claustrophobic, and it got way too hot to breath. We went to the back a bit, closer to the doors- and there we had a nice breeze that helped us keep on dancing and standing in the crowd. Why the hell did they not put ventilators on the other side of the room only God knows (Europeans! I hereby call you and ask: have you not realized that your continent is getting hotter and hotter every moment??? When are you going to get cooling devices???)

The ambiance in the place was really good, lots of ppl (I guessed more than a 1000) singing the songs (as much as you can sing along with Alex Turner- their singer- who sings so fast you can't even grasp the words.

Anyway, we had a good time, and got home really really tired... (I'm not 16 anymore- that's my conclusion from this night...). Oh and sorry- but we didn't take a camera- I was too lazy to take it with me.